Football fans think they’ve spotted Mateo Kovačić forgetting what club he plays for or very briefly revealing where his true allegiances still lie, after a video of celebrating Chelsea’s equaliser in the blockbuster 4-4 draw against Manchester City on Sunday, 12 November.
Kovačić joined Man City this summer, leaving Stamford Bridge to replace the outgoing İlkay Gündoğan — one of the best like-for-like bits of recruitment the club could have hoped for — and won a UEFA Super Cup almost the second he walked through the door.
That being said, the Croatian midfielder couldn’t have found himself a better destination than the home of the current European champions and treble-winners, so when a clip of his reaction to Chelsea’s equalising penalty surfaced on social media, it’s safe to say it raised a few eyebrows.
Capturing the moment immediately after former City starlet Cole Palmer tucks away his penalty to tie up the bonkers Premier League fixture, Kovačić appears to celebrate a hard-fought performance from his side going from three points to just one. Take a look and see what you think:
Some eagle-eyed fans think Matteo Kovacic (City No.8) celebrated Cole Palmer's equalizer, thus making him proper Chelsea. 🧐
Bottom left, number eight. Is Kovačić celebrating Chelsea’s equaliser?
You have to say, there aren’t many times you watch the opponent score against your own team and feel like you want to do a low fist pump…
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While the gesture is obviously a relatively reserved one, you swiftly see him then drop his arm — perhaps in a moment of realisation — before walking off with his head down.
Make of it what you will but, obviously, Chelsea fans all over social media are convinced that this was the 29-year-old letting slip that he still prefers his previous club, with supporters labelling him a “proper Chels” player and still a West Londoner “through and through”.
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The midfielder has yet to address the club and is likely to just ignore the whole thing until it blows over, but it is a curious one, to say the least. Perhaps he was just really chuffed for youngster Palmer, who also recently swapped his shirt for a different shade of blue this past transfer window, though the two can’t have spent much time together in the two months they were both still at the Etihad.
What do you think, Blues — was it a momentary lapse where the former Chelsea star simply forgot that he’s on the other team now, a hand gesture that’s simply been misconstrued or something else?
Pep Guardiola‘s champions are still sitting top of the table by just one point as they head into the international break, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs and Aston Villa all within touching distance.
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Simply because it was one of the craziest games we’ve seen in a long time and already being hailed as a Premier League classic, we’ll leave the highlights for you here:
Featured Image — Mateo Kovačić (via Instagram)/Sports Extra (via YouTube)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
14th November 2023 
